THIS WEEK: Less than 44% of facilities can manage post-partum complications, survey

THIS WEEK: Less than 44% of facilities can manage post-partum complications, survey

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A report launched on Mar.07 shows health facilities across the country lack crucial medicines for mothers such as magnesium sulphate and dexamethasone for managing pre-term labor and preventing complications due to pre-eclampsia and postpartum hemorrhaging.

The survey that was done in 124 facilities across the country including Health Center IIIs, public, private and mission hospitals found that these crucial medicines were found in less than 44% of the facilities. Irregular availability of such commodities experts warn contributes to the 336 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births the country still grapples with.

Dennis Kibira the Executive Director, HEPS- Uganda, one of the NGOs that carried out the survey said the intention of the research was to provide data on the prices people pay for sexual and reproductive health commodities, their availability, the barriers to their access and what causes stock outs if they are there. He asked government to improve the supply chain such that accurate ordering and delivery of commodities is done.

Meanwhile at the London Family Planning summit last year, Uganda renewed its commitment to reproductive health commodities whereby they pledged to reduce the unmet need for family planning to 10% and to increase the modern contraceptive prevalence rate among women to 50% by 2020. They also pledged to allocate $5million annually for procurement and distribution of reproductive health supplies and commodities to the last mile.